


Lost and Found

by moonshineandfireflies



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, My First AO3 Post, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-24 06:03:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16634345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonshineandfireflies/pseuds/moonshineandfireflies
Summary: After years of searching Daryl finds Beth.





	Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all this is my first one shot, so I have no idea what I'm doing right now, but I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I have no rights to TWD or its affiliates.  
> :

  
He had her. Her small hands were cold and clammy against his calloused finger and she was shaking so hard he could feel her vibrating against his firm grip, but after days of sheer panic and stone cold fear, she was back were she belonged right next to him. For the first time since that night, he could breathe. With his hand on her lowered back, he moved to usher her out of Grady vowing to never let her out of his sight again. He had her. His girl was safe. They could move forward.

  
Five words. That was all it took for his entire world to come crashing down around him pooling like dark red blood under his mud clad boots. “Now, we just need Noah.” He could feel Beth tense as Rick argued for the kid’s safety. With one look at the sheer determination on her face Daryl’s heart sank to the bottom of his chest and fear washed over him like ice in his veins. No. He thought reaching out to grab Beth's hand as she slipped away from him once more. Girl, please.   
Watching her make her way through the crowd, his breath caught in his throat as Beth yelled “Wait", wrapped her slim arms around Noah's middle turning to look at Daryl with tears brimming in her cornflower blue eyes threatening to spill down her scarred porcelain cheek. Daryl stood silently with baited breathe waiting for her to return to him, but she faltered turning instead to Dawn. That was the moment he caught sight of the pair of scissors in Beth's hand just before she drove the blade into Dawn's chest giving Daryl just enough hope to take a quick ragged breath, before the sound of Dawn’s gun misfiring directly into the center of Beth's forehead took that all away and just like that his whole world slammed backwards with a deafening thud onto the cold, cruel tiles of the hospital floor.  _Beth was dead._

  
Ten years later, Daryl was still searching for any sign that she was somehow alive and searching for him too. Every single sunrise or the sound of songbirds in the trees overhead made him stop and think of her. So much had changed, including himself. Goddammit, he missed her.

  
His hair was longer and his beard held a little more gray, but his unwavering commitment to her was the key to his survival. Six years earlier when he had tried, but ultimately failed at saving Rick, his best friend and loyal brother, from uncertain death, Daryl turned with the fire still raging at the bridge, as well as, in his chest and left, hell bent on finally leaving everything he cared for behind to rot. The further he stalked deeper into the dense woods, the more his anger escalated seething just below the surface. Merle. Beth. Glenn. Carl. Rick. With every step their faces crowded his mind. It was all my fault. He ranted with his fists clenched and teeth set on edge. Tears stung at his eyes as he forced them away with the back of his hand ignoring the streak of crud it left behind.  _I'm so fucking sorry._

  
Daryl’s stomach churned at the exact moment his feet collapsed under his weight hitting the forest floor with a thud. He had spent the last few years of his life surviving on just enough to keep moving. He assumed that he might be somewhere just south of Atlanta after years of barely surviving, he was going to save her with his half crazy attempt to journey back to where it all ended for the two of them. Maybe Beth was still there tracking him. He would never forget the vision of her lifeless body in his arms as he carried her out of Grady or the way Maggie’s anguished sobs escalated to screams when she saw her little sister, but she wasn’t dead. Daryl had just barely caught a glimpse of her fingertips moving so quickly, he swore it had not happened, but then she did it again and his tears tell softly on her cheek holding back a sob.

  
In the middle of a thicket he sat with his back against the trunk of an old pine tree too weary to stand and take one more step. The bright glow of the sun against the labyrinth of thick trees casted shadows all around him. Miles away from anyone or anything that could give a damn, Daryl Dixon cried. The tears cascaded drown his cheeks as he swallowed down a wretched sob letting the agony of being alone wash over him like acid rain against his skin. You are alone.  _They are gone. You could not save them. It is your fault._

  
“Jesus Christ, Boy, what the hell’re you doing cryin’ in the woods like a little bitch baby for?” Came a voice that was so familiar Daryl knew it better than his own. It was Merle standing right in front of him in the same black vest and cargo pants that he had died in years ago. “The old man woulda had yer ass for that back in the day. You’re a grown ass man, Baby Brother. I sure spent half my damn life tryna make something outta you and this is the thanks I get watching you give up? Fuck that shit. You might be soft as a goddamn pussy, but y’aint gotta act like one now get up.” Daryl opened his mouth to tell his brother that shit didn’t matter no more just as Merle disappeared in front of him.

  
The sun was sinking lower beneath the trees signaling that darkness was fast approaching and Daryl needed to move and find a place to lay low if he wanted to survive, but the voices in his head were pounding and that vision of Merle had shaken him up. His was exhausted. His entire body rejected his attempt to get up allowing his knee to give way. “Son of a bitch.” He hissed blinking back tears groaning through clenched teeth as he stood reaching around to maneuver the strap of his crossbow over his shoulders reachinga down in his pocket grabbing the handle of a knife.  _Her knife._

  
Swallowing down the lump in his throat feeling it hit his stomach like a rock, Daryl moved forward. The sound of cicadas echoed around him as he dredged on letting his instinct plot his course. He was going to find her even if the quest itself killed him. The more he walked the darker it became. With every step the path grew thicker. The wind was howling against the trees. A storm was coming. Daryl kept his eyes focused completely relying on the subtle changes in the wind or the rustle of a branch for guidance. He needed shelter. Food. Water. Her.

  
“Come on, Brother.” Rick’s voice echoed in Daryl’s head as the man appeared to walk along beside him. Seeing the man who had fundamentally charge his entire life, Daryl faltered staring at Rick in bewilderment. He looked the exact same as he did six years ago with a scraggly beard, but he was wearing his uniform. “You can’t give up. She’s out there. I know you see it. Daryl she’s right there. Just a little further. Don’t give up.” Truth be told, Daryl was just about to turn his head and tell Rick that he couldn’t go any goddamn further when he stopped short blinking at the empty space where Rick had been just a moment before talking to him. It was so dark and the soft rumbling of thunder in the distance provided no comfort. Daryl trudged onward limping thought the thick expanse of darkness surrounding him.  _Girl, I know you're alive. You gotta be._

  
The cold sting of winter rain became a welcomed distraction as Daryl braves the elements looking for any sign of Beth. He was just a few miles from the city with the almost impossible idea that she had somehow found her way out and settled close by hoping he would come for her. Completely soaked from head to toe by the rain, Daryl was certain that he might look enough like a walker to scare her. Wiping his face with his old red bandana, he slid the cloth back in his front pocket. His feet felt heavy with every step and his knee was on the verge of giving out completely, but the small glow of fire in the distance caused his heart to tighten in his chest. With his hand resting on the hilt of her knife, he approached silently barely breathing while he stopped behind an oak tree to camouflage himself taking time to load his bow resting it against his shoulder with his thumb on the trigger. The glow he had learned was from the embers of a fire that had not long been put out by the resident of the nearby trailer.

  
The trailer itself was barely usable with no windows on either side and a dent in the front door that looked like a walker had been eager to get to what was inside. From the outside, it looked vaguely familiar like the trailers Merle would drag him into to get high. There’s no way she’s here, but then he heard the sound of soft humming and the murmur of a song he had almost forgotten. His Songbird. He had finally found her. After years of losing his faith and barely living, he had pictured this moment a thousand times in his head. With shaking hands, he managed to stow his bow quickly wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans for walking cautiously to the front door and raising his hand to knock.

  
“Beth.” He called out to her barely focused on anything other than what awaited him on the other side of the door. “Come on, Girl, open the door.” His heart raced and his knees quaked beneath him threatening to put him on his knees. When the door finally opened slowly and cautiously, Daryl choked back a cry taking her in for the first time falling to his knees in front of her.

                         “I told you I would find you.”

 


End file.
